Page 40 of Wilde Beta

After loading several carts with clothing and shoes, she went to make a deal. The shoes weren't selling well because many people in the area went barefoot, and buying shoes was a luxury, so they rarely did.

The clerk called out the manager, who immediately got to work trying to secure a deal. When they were done, she had their supplies down to half price, promising to return within a week to buy more. Mel had been very pleased, and as a white wolf, she loved a bargain, so this made her day. At least something was going right.

They hurried back to the alpha house, and people gathered around the truck. Maria sorted things out in piles for women, men, and children. Even the children helped with their clothing as quickly as possible to ensure they got something.

Sometimes, the same thing did not look like it could fit because it was too small or far too large. Maria was getting frustrated and finally let out a whistle that stopped everyone in their tracks. She started on her aunt in Spanish, who, as far as Mel could see, said they were crazy and that they needed to pick clothing to fit. Once all the clothing was given out, they made a list to see what sizes fit what person. When they went shopping next time, they would shop by name.

It sounded good to Mel, especially if they took extra people to keep all that information straight. She was sure some would want to go because they could pick their clothing and shoes. Who wouldn't want to go shopping for their own things?

Before they went to the thrift store, they went to one of the discount stores and picked up a large amount of shampoo and other personal needs. Mel usually enjoyed shopping, but this kind of shopping was just plain crazy.

She planned to go online to some wholesale places and put in large orders for certain things to be delivered to the door, and she wouldn't have to go shopping for them.

Maria was a fantastic help, but it wasn't enough. There were so many people needing care and so many things that she had to do that she needed a personal assistant like Ariel had. With that thought, she sent Ariel an email. Her cousin was so busy that dropping everything to take a call was hard. Sometimes, emails were answered quickly, and sometimes, not as much. Ariel must have been working on her emails this time because she responded almost immediately.

Mel,

I will send you someone talented right away. I have a few extra people in various jobs, and I can let one or two come to you. How many do you need, and what position do you wish to put them in?

Ariel

Mel considered that and decided that a secretary and a personal assistant would get her through for now. She replied to the email to let Ariel know, and then she needed to work on something else. Maybe she should have asked for a healer because they didn't seem to have one.

“Maria, is there no healer for the pack?” Mel asked

“We had one not long ago that mainly took care of the alpha. I'm not sure what happened to him, but he disappeared, and we've not had a healer since.” Maria responded.

Mel started a list and put healer at the top. She would add requirements as they became apparent. None of her people seemed to have any education, and she didn't know why a pack would not encourage that. Maybe it was because he intended to sell them all and didn't care if they had a career. Or not. That's not what they would do. Mel would see that anyone who wanted to attend college and get a degree could. In other packs, she knew they encouraged their members to go into law enforcement, politics, medical care, and several other positions that would help the pack and the person. She didn't believe that the needs of this pack would be any different from that of the others.

Adam was all day. At first, it was liberating those held by the slave rings, and after that, it was working on the housing that they desperately needed. The big tent had arrived, and most other people seemed pleased with it even though there wasn't much privacy. There was running water and electricity, which had never been available in the village. Their first home was completed in a month, but several other homes had already been started. As the first beta, Hector had moved into the first home with his family. He, his wife, four children, his parents, and his mother-in-law were all delighted with the house, and there was enough room. They all had a private area.

The next home would usually go to Levi, but since he had no family, he said he would keep his room in the alpha house for now. That moved up to a male called Jose and his extended family, almost as large as hectors, except Jose only had three children. That house was being built rapidly since the foundation had been put in while Hector's house was still under construction, and now it was ready to go. It was amazing how fast things were going now that they had been started. Harry was a force of nature. Only one small row of houses was left to be torn down, which she quickly handled. The materials from them were separated into piles based on usefulness.

She also did a fantastic job moving materials around where needed, saving an enormous amount of labor.

“I've been thinking about starting a destruction company.” Harry giggled.

There was no doubt that she was good at it. Mel stood back with the other women and watched as the Harry cyclone tore things apart, quickly separating them into piles. Once she was done, the guys could move in and use those valuable items to build storage sheds. While sometimes building supplies could be used, these were not adequate to use in a new house. But that didn't mean that they would waste them either. It had only been a matter of time before the expected attack came. They made a mistake by waiting until Tyne had an opportunity to train many of their people, including females and children.

The attack came in the middle of the workday, and Mel did not realize what was happening at first. Her wolf had to tell her they were under attack and action needed to be taken. Two unknown males came in, and the females and children piled on them. Another followed them, and Mel jumped, morphing in the middle of her jump, her jaw clamping onto his throat. Even though she was not a heavy wolf, it was a surprise that it knocked him to the ground, and with her jaws around his throat, he knew better than to move. He tapped out, and she let him up but watched him suspiciously.

The women and children had managed to take out the other two and have them restrained and moved to another room as prisoners. While everyone felt like celebrating, the fight was not over yet. Mel hurried outside to see what was happening. It was not the smartest thing to do, but she hadn't always done the smartest things. No one seemed to be headed their way, thinking that three wolves could take down women, children, and the alpha's mate. That would leave others to concentrate on taking down the rest of the pack.

They had not realized the pack had received excellent instruction on protecting themselves. They also didn't know that Tyne and Moe were there, and she was scaring the hell out of him with her hillbilly cry. Harry was having fun knocking down large groups of enemy wolves, floating them around in the air, and acting like she would drop them. It was apparent they were terrified, and they didn't know what to do. Finally, she dropped him to the ground, magically restrained and unable to do anything.

The alpha was the only one they couldn't do anything with because he was leading from behind and protected by his people. When it became clear that he was on the losing end, he turned and ran as fast as he could. Now, those left behind would have to protect themselves. It would not be easy since their families had been left back on their pack lands. As long as the former alpha had the families of the wolves he had sent in, they could not swear allegiance or do anything except be prisoners for fear that their families would pay.

Mel had seen over half the fight, and she wanted that alpha in their custody so bad she could taste it. Action would have to be taken, and it needed to be swift before the dam wolf could hide or find some other type of protection. According to Maria, this had been one pack in the past and needed to be one again. Yeah, she knew it wasn't the best time with everything else going on, but life threw things at you, and it wasn't always the best time that it did it. They needed a war council, and she had a feeling that she had a good idea about how to get to that alpha. Right now, while they had Harry, Tyne, and Moe, it was the best time to go after him. She knew Moe would back her up.

“We need to go after that coward," Moe yelled.

“Amen, sister," Mel agreed.

Tyne looked at Adam to see what he wanted to do.

“Anyone have a plan?” Adam asked.

“I do, but we'll need Harry," Mel suggested.

---